The Way it Has to be
Authors Note: This is my first one shot. I hope you enjoy!
It's been a year since Namine's death and I'm still trying to cope with the pain. At least I had a way to get me by all this time.
"You came." a blonde haired girl smiled at me. He body giving off a gentle glow.
"Is there a reason I shouldn't have?" I smiled at her.
"I thought you wouldn't want to see me anymore." she said as she hugged me.
"Why wouldn't I want to see you?" I asked confused.
"It's been a year since I've died, isn't it time to move on?" she asked.
"No, I love you and I will only love you." I told her.
She smiled at me sadly. "Thank you, Sora. But this visit has to be cut short, your about to be woken up."
"What do you....Ouch!" I said as I Rubbed my head and saw Riku standing above me.
"Are you just going to sleep your life away?" he asked me as he sat down.
"What does it matter to you?" I yawned as I sat up.
"Dude, it's been a year now, don't you think it's time to let it go?" he asked concerned.
I just glared at him, "I'm never going to let it go."
He sighed, "Fine, then at least just come with me to say hi to the new girl."
"New girl?" I asked. I was unaware that anyone was moving in around here.
Riku stood up, "Just come with." he said as he pulled me off the ground.
I walked behind him slowly. It was a bright warm sunny day out, Namine would enjoy this. I sighed as her face popped into my head. Riku didn't say anything and I was glad he didn't for once. She didn't live that far from where I lived, maybe a block or so.
"Hey, Sora, look up where here." Riku said as he shook my shoulder slightly.
I looked up and we were standing outside of a two-story house. It would be nice for a small family.
"Hey there boys, what are you up to?" I heard a female voice ask. I followed the voice to a girl walking around to the back of the car. She had shoulder length red auburn hair, deep blue eyes, and a very friendly smile. In a weird way she sort of reminded me of Namine.
"We just came to welcome you to the neighbor hood." Riku said.
"Well it's nice to meet you, I'm Kairi by the way." She smiled as she struggled with the box. Right before she dropped it, I ran to her and took it from her. "Thank you umm..." she said as she tried to figure out what to call me.
"Sora, My name's Sora." I said as I pulled the box closer to my chest.
She looked into my eyes and smiled at me, "Thanks Sora, and I really do mean it." It was strange, when she looked me in the eyes and smiled like that, I felt something. It wasn't love but I haven't felt anything in so long it caught me off guard.
"It's not a problem." I smiled at her, a real smile, not a fake smile that everyone falls for. When I looked over I saw Riku staring at me in shock, doing a double take. It's been forever since I've smiled. "Hey Riku, instead of gawking at us, why don't you grab a box and help." I teased. I swear Riku looked like he was going to pass out from shock.
After we help carry the boxes in, Kairi's parents invited us in to visit for a while. As expected, Kairi sat right next to me. As Riku discussed the different things that happen on the islands, Kairi and I started our own conversation. It was strange, as she told me about how life was in the city and talked about old friends, I found myself laughing and enjoying myself. I could tell Riku was looking at me like I was possessed but nobody could figure out why.
As we got ready to head home, Riku pulled Kairi away for a minute to talk to her, "Hey Kairi, this is going to sound weird, but could you do me a favor?" He asked in a low whisper.
"Sure, what do you want?" she asked confused but still friendly.
"Well it has to do with Sora, if it's not too much of a problem I would like for you to hang out with him as much as possible. You see, his girlfriend died a year ago and he's been depressed a lot, today was actually the first time I saw him smile in a long time." Riku explained.
Kairi gasped and looked at me apologetically before looking back at Riku, "Of course I'll hang out with him, you didn't need to ask me to do that." She smiled.
"Really?" Riku asked surprised about how quickly she answered.
"Yeah, I really like him." She smiled as a blush slightly crossed her face.
When I got home I got a quick bite to eat and went to bed, when I fell asleep she was waiting for me like I knew she would.
"Welcome back." She smiled, "It looks like you had a good day."
"It's been better than most days since you passed away, Namine." I said as I looked into her eyes.
She giggled as she crossed the white room to stand in front of me. "Tell me about Kairi." she told me.
I blushed and looked away, "You've already seen what she's like."
"But I want to hear what she's like through your eyes." Namine pressed.
"Well...she's nice, very friendly, has a great sense of humor and she's attractive." I told her.
She smiled, "Do you think you guys will be more than friends?"
I blushed and shook my head, "No, I don't think I can see her as more than a friend."
She still smiled at me but her eyes filled with sadness, "that's too bad."
The rest of the night just went on talking about how each of us were doing in our separate worlds.
The next morning I woke up to the sound of the doorbell, I groaned and rolled over hoping the person would just leave but the doorbell rang again so I pulled myself out of bed to answer it, it was Riku.
"Your taking Kairi to the beach today." He told me.
"Huh?" I looked at him confused.
"Get dressed and bring Kairi to the beach, I was going to bring her but then I got called into work."
I sighed, "Fine." I said as I went upstairs to change. When I came back down Kairi was standing at the door. "Hey Kairi, what are you doing here?" I asked stunned that she was already here.
"Riku brought me over before he left for work." She blushed as she looked down and playfully twisted her foot in the sand.
"Well lets get going." I smiled at her before this situation got any more awkward.
"Thanks for bringing me today." She said as we sat on the dock looking at the sunset. I've done this many times with Namine but it feels strange sitting here with someone else.
"It was no big deal, I just wish Riku would have said something sooner." I rolled my eyes at the thought and it made Kairi laugh.
"Sora, Can I tell you something?" Kairi asked as she looked at the son and blushed.
"Sure, what is it?" I asked.
"I think I like, not as a friend but...something more." she admitted not looking at me.
"I kind of like you too, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to move on." I told her.
"When do you think you'll be ready?" she asked this time looking at me.
"Never." I said not thinking about it.
She sighed, "Sora, did you know that I had a boyfriend before I came here?"
I didn't expect that one, though I should have seeing as she was beautiful. "No."
"I did, that's how I learned to move on." she said as some of her hair blew in her face.
"What happened to him." I asked as I pushed the hair out of her face.
"He was in the military. He loved to fight for what was right, and I was proud of him because he was good at it. Then one day he was called away to fight in the war, he was excited about it but I worried about him, but I put on a smile and wished him luck. He wrote to me once a week while he was away, then one day the letters stopped coming. A few months later, the captain of his group showed up, he said he's more than likely dead even though they never found a body. I never saw or heard from Roxas again, that was two years ago." she said as she looked down at the water.
"Roxas...where you guys close?" I asked as I looked at her.
"Yeah you could say that, I was kind of like you for a while, then I figured he'd want me to move on and be happy." she smiled sadly as she looked at me.
"Just give me a little time okay." I gently said. She smiled and nodded at me. "Want me to walk you home?" I asked.
"I'd be honored." she laughed.
"Roxas huh?" Namine asked as I told her Kairi's story.
"Yeah, that was her old boyfriends name." I told her.
"I know a Roxas, I run into him from time to time." She said as she sketched in her pad. "He's very friendly."
"So he really is dead then?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, he's been here longer than me." she laughed. "But you really should try and move on." she said giving me a serious look.
"How can I move on when I'm still in love with you?" I asked as I looked down.
She walked over and gently lifted my face up, "You have to try Sora. I'm gone now, it can't be like this forever."
I smiled at her sadly and took her tiny hand in mine, "But, I couldn't protect you. What if she dies because I couldn't protect her either?" I asked.
"Sora, you couldn't have saved me. You knew I was sick and there was nothing you could do about it. You're not always going to be able to be there to protect and save people. That's the risks we take in life."
"I guess so." I sighed.
"So do me a favor and give her a chance, you love her deep down inside you love her, your just scared to let yourself do it." she said as she hugged me. "This is the last time you'll see me for a while." she whispered as she let go.
When I woke up, her presence was gone. It made me feel horrible, her being around was the only thing that got me by. When I walked out, Kairi was sitting on my door step. When she saw how terrible I looked, she turned around and hugged me. I smiled the best I could when I let go. "You ready for your first day at a new school?" I asked.
She bit her lip nervously, then she smiled and nodded, "With you and Riku there with me I can get through this day no problem."
"That's the spirit." I laughed.
Kairi's first day went great, and things were getting better for me every day as I spent more time with her. As Namine promised, I wouldn't see her for a while. She hasn't shown up in my dreams for a while, each day I was less sad about it and looked forward to spending the day with Kairi. Things were great until the day before graduation and Kairi decided she was going to move away.
"Go stop her." Riku yelled at me.
"it's her choice, I can't stop her."
Riku pulled at his hair in frustration, "Tonight's the last time you'll have to stop her. I don't want to see you depressed."
"How am I going to make her stay?" I yelled frustrated.
"After the ceremony, tell her how you feel." He sighed and looked at me like I was an idiot.
"That will make her stay?" I asked giving him a confused look.
"If she's not an idiot." Riku rolled his eyes.
The graduation ceremony took longer than I wanted it to, but now I was scared of what I had to do. I watched as she walked away, unsure of what I should do. "Kairi, Sora needs to talk to you." Riku called out, which made her turn around and wait for me. "She's all yours." Riku whispered to me.
I quickly ran out to her and said whatever came to mind, "Kairi, remember the day we spent together on the docks and I told you that I wasn't ready and I needed time."
She looked into my eyes and nodded, "yes."
"Well, I thought about it...a lot, and I realized the more time I spent with you, the more I liked you and I decided that I'm ready to move again. But I don't want to be with just anybody, I want to be with you. If you walk away now, I don't think I'll ever be ever to move on again. So will you stay here with me?"
She blushed and looked at me for a long time before she said, "Sora, I've loved you since we first met. I was going to leave because I thought you didn't want me, and I needed room to start over. But... I love you, so of course I will stay with you." she smiled.
I smiled and took her face between my hands and pressed my lips gently to hers. She stood frozen for a second, but then she kissed back. When we broke the kiss there were two people standing in front of us. The girl was Namine and to her side was a blonde spiky haired boy, if I had to guess it was Roxas. They were both smiling at us.
"Looks like you were finally able to move on." Namine smiled as she stood in front of me.
"We're both proud of you guys." Roxas smiled.
"Thank you guys, for everything." Kairi smiled sweetly at them.
They smiled at us one last time as they turned and walked a way. After a few steps the disappeared into the setting sun.